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What is a BPA in government contracting?

Blanket Purchase Agreement

A BPA is, in the FAR's own words, a simplified method of filling anticipated repetitive needs for supplies or services by establishing charge accounts with qualified sources of supply.

Also written as: blanket purchase agreement, BPA meaning, charge account.

FAR 13.303-1 describes the arrangement in exactly those terms. The agency and the vendor agree in advance on the terms, and individual calls against the agreement then buy what is needed without running a fresh acquisition each time. The FAR notes that using BPAs does not exempt an agency from keeping obligations and expenditures within available funds.

There is a second, distinct animal that shares the name: a BPA established against a Federal Supply Schedule contract under FAR 8.405-3. Those are common, can be single- or multiple-award, and behave more like an ordering vehicle than a charge account. When somebody says "we have a BPA with the agency", it is worth establishing which of the two they mean.

For a small firm a BPA is the most durable form of a good relationship with a buying office. Repetitive, low-value, locally sourced needs — supplies, grounds work, minor repair — are exactly what the instrument was designed for.

What this means when you bid

If an office keeps buying the same thing from you on separate purchase orders, ask the contracting officer about a BPA. It reduces their workload as much as yours.

BPA compared with the terms it gets confused with

BPA vs IDIQ

An IDIQ guarantees a minimum order and is a contract in itself; a simplified-acquisition BPA is a pre-arranged charge account for repetitive buys.

What IDIQmeans →

BPA vs RFQ

A BPA is often established after a period of repeated RFQ buying from the same vendor, and removes the need to re-quote each time.

What RFQmeans →

Where this definition comes from

Federal contracting is one of the few fields where the authoritative answer is free, public and one click away. These are the sources this page is built from — go and read them.

This page explains a term in plain English and cites the authority it comes from. It is not legal advice, and the regulation governs where this page and the regulation differ.

Free tools for government contractors

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BPA— common questions

What is a BPA in government contracting?
A BPA is, in the FAR's own words, a simplified method of filling anticipated repetitive needs for supplies or services by establishing charge accounts with qualified sources of supply.
What is the difference between BPA and IDIQ?
An IDIQ guarantees a minimum order and is a contract in itself; a simplified-acquisition BPA is a pre-arranged charge account for repetitive buys.
What is the difference between BPA and RFQ?
A BPA is often established after a period of repeated RFQ buying from the same vendor, and removes the need to re-quote each time.
Why does a BPA matter when you are bidding?
If an office keeps buying the same thing from you on separate purchase orders, ask the contracting officer about a BPA. It reduces their workload as much as yours.

Related terms

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